Spanish-English Translation Dictionary by Ultralingua. $19.99
History of Costa Rica
Mountain Democrat
Placerville, El Dorado County, California
April 12, 1856
Central America
Perhaps no part of our continent was less known to the general reader twenty five years ago than Central America; and even now, when the occurrence of so many strange and unexpected events has, within a few years, given it an unusual degree of importance, we are comparatively uninformed as to its geography or history. The larger Provinces of Spain, all of which, together with the States of Central America, became independent of the mother country at about the same time had been long known to the world, on account of their great natural wealth, and the number of soldiers and travelers who thronged thither in search of gain or wild adventure; but the States of Central America, having no special attractions for strangers, and having gained their independence without a struggle, by a quiet declaration, remained in obscurity.
The discovery of gold in California made a wonderful change. To reach the land of gold the readiest and shortest route was over the Isthmus of Panama, and immediately it became a second time a thoroughfare for the nations of the world, as it had been three centuries before for adventurers to the first El Dorado—Peru . . .
For citizens of the United States and Great Britain, Central America has for years had special interest, as being designed for the local application of the celebrated Monroe doctrine, and as being particularly referred to in the equally celebrated Clayton-Bulwer treaty, and recent wild rumors point to it as destined to be the means of inching the two nations in a war to sustain or destroy forever the fundamental principle of that doctrine and treaty, and to decide the commercial sovereignty of the world.
The territory of the Slates of Central America, formerly termed the Kingdom of Guatemala, has, since its separation from Spain, been considerably diminished by the encroachments of its more powerful neighbors It extended originally from the eastern part of Chiriqu (Escudo de Veragua), where it joined the present State of New Grenada on the south-east, to Mexico on the north-west; a distance of more than 600 leagues overland . . .
It has been well said of Central America, that in its physical aspect and configuration
it is an epitome of all other countries and climates on the globe. A chain
of mountains passes through it in a direction
nearly parallel to the northwest coast,
and nearer to the Pacific than to the Atlantic.
These mountains are not so high
as those in North or South America, their
mean altitude being from live thousand to
seven thousand feet; though in some parts
of Costa Rica they reach a height of nine
thousand feet, and the Volcano de Apua,
or water volcano, is fifteen thousand feet
high, being the highest land in Central America. No other country of the same
area, except perhaps Java, has so many
active volcanoes. A great variety of climate
is caused by the constant alteration
of mountain and valley; branches from
the main range diverging in different directions,
so that large plains are nowhere
found.
There are mines of gold, silver, iron, lead, and mercury; but none of these metals are found in large quantities Limestone and quartz are very scarce. Lime and building stone are obtained on the Atlantic from coral rocks; on the Pacific, lime is made from shells. Jasper and marble are worked in Honduras, and sulphur is collected near some of the volcanoes. On the Pacific coast large quantities of salt are procured from springs, which are numerous . . .
Though Central America is within the torrid zone, its climate is comparatively mild, and in many parts very salubrious. According to Baily, the greatest mean temperature in the interior is 68°, and on the coast from 82° to 84°. According to other authorities, the thermometer occasionally rises to 86° in March and April, but ranges generally from 74° to 82° at noon . . .
As a consequence of the remarkable fertility of the soil and the great varieties of temperature, almost all the tropical productions and many that are peculiar to the temperate zone are raised in great abundance. The grains, vegetables, and fruits of Europe are raised in the higher parts of the table lands. Almost all kinds of articles of substance abound, together with all wild and tame animals commonly used as food. In the lower and warmer districts, Indian corn, the sweet potato, sugar cane, indigo, tobacco, cocoa, cochineal, banana, mandioca, and almost all tropical fruits, flourish, including the cherimova, said to be the most exquisite of all fruits.
Besides these articles, the principal
commercial productions are coffee,
rice, cotton, wool, hides, many dye-woods
drugs, balsam, and various gums, timber,
minerals, and precious stones. The coffee
crop of Costa Rica, in 1852, was ninety
thousand quintals.
The people have been content to accept what the unaided fertility of the land bestows upon them. It results from this, that where go many commodities could be abundantly raised, only three or four are exported, all others being produced only in sufficient quantities for home consumption. As a melancholy instance of the violent opposition of the ignorant masses to the modern improvements in agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, it is related by Squier that Don Gregorio Yenerio, a man of intelligence and public spirit, who had introduced new improvements in agriculture and new machinery in the manufacture of cotton and the preparation of cotton and indigo for foreign markets, was murdered in cold blood, in the presence of his entire family, by a band of robbers and assassins, led by the robber chief Somoza. This occurred but a few years back . . .
On the east coast the ports are:
- Belize, Santo Tomas and Izabal, in Guatemala;
- Cabo Caballo, Omoa, Coxenholo and Truxillo, in Honduras;
- Cape Gracias a Dios, Bluefields, and San Juan, in Nicaragua;
- Matma and Boco del Torro, in Costa Rica.
On the Pacific are:
- Golfo Dolce, Punta Arenas and Caldera, in Costa Rica;
- the bays of Culebra, Salinas, San Juan del Sur, Tamarinda and Realejo, in Nicaragua ;
- Amapalo and San Lorenzo, in Honduras;
- La Union, Jiguilisco, Acajutla and Sonsonate, in San Salvador,
- Istapa and Ocus, in Guatamala.
Four of the five States now have ports on both oceans, San Salvador being the only one whose maritime commerce is, limited to the Pacific . . .
Coffee, also, said to be equal to any in the world, is produced; yet it is exported only by Costa Rica. It is the chief source of wealth to this State, the crop of 1847 amounting to eight million pounds, worth $1,000,000. Trade is free alike to foreigners and natives. The ordinary revenue of the States is derived from duties or imposts, a duty of five per cent on the transfer of real estate, and a monopoly of the bale of spirits and tobacco. As no returns of the commerce of the several States, except Costa Rica, have been made for many years, it is impossible to arrive at any certain information in regard to it. In 1845, the exports of Costa Rica amounted to $631,700, its imports to $163,000, and the net revenue of the government to $132,000.
